Towline bumper



March 16,1926; 1,576,961 5. c. GouLD TOWLINE BUMPER FiledJan'. 4, 1926 IN V EN TOR; 6T C/I (l1-[es Houla 35 ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 16, 1926'. i

UNITE rar carie TOWLINE BUMPER.

Application led January To all 'whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL CHARLES GOULD, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Bridgeport, vin the county of Fairtield .and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements. in Towline Bumpers, of which the following isa specification.

This invention relates to a tow line bumper, and has more particular reference to a device which can be utilized in connection with a vehicle as an ordinary bumper,

. or as a push or pull tow line.

An object of the invention is to provide a bumper adapted to `be put to use as a push or pull tow line when occasion re quires.

A lfurther object is to provide abumper adapted to be extensible to be put to use as a push or pull tow line.

And a further object is to provide a novel push and pull tow line bumper which will be of simple and economic construction and an improvement generally over the device disclosed in my Patent No. 1,473,288, granted November 6, 1923.

Vith the above objects in view, as well as others which will appear as the specification proceeds, the invention comprises the construction, arrangement and combination of parts as now to be fully described and as hereinafter to be specifically claimed, it being understood that the disclosure herein is merely illustrative and meant in no way in a limiting sense, changes in details of construction and arrangement of parts being permissible so long as within t e spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specication,

Fig. 1 is a perspective'view cf the device as applied to use as an ordinary bumper;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the device of Fig. 1, removed from a vehicle;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the device of Fig. 1, removed from a vehicle `and arranged to be used as a push or pull tow line, a part of the extension rod being p broken away;

Fi 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectiona view detailing one end of the device as disclosed in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view on line 5-5 in Flg. 4;VA

4, 1926. serial No. 79,156..

Fig. 6 is an end view as seen from the left in Fig. 4; and

.F ig. 7 is a perspective view of the device associated with an ordinary bumper of diiferent construction.

iith respect to the drawing,10 represents a bumper of ordinary or preferred construction. As disclosed, the bumper consists or" a pair of aligning tubes, denoted 11 and 12, detachably joined end to end, and bumper supporting means, indicated generally at 13 and 14, at the ends of the tubes adapted to be removably and adjustably secured to brackets 1,5 and 16 themselves carried by the opposite side members of an automotive vehicle frame (not shown).

The tubes 11 and 12 are, as disclosed, Joined together in the manner now to be ex. plained. Numeral 17 denotes a coupling element having an external thread -18 adapted to engage an internal threadv 19 at the'inner end. of the tube 11, and 20 is a somewhat snnllar coupling element having an external-thread 21 adapted to engage an internal thread 22 at the inner end of the tube 12.

The coupling element 17 has an annular V is threaded into said tube l2. The tubes 11.

and 12 are of equal diameter, and the anges 23 and 24 are also of equal diameter, greater than the diameter of said tubes. The circumference 25 of the annular flange 23 is smooth, while the circumference 26 of the annular flange 24 is threaded. Numeral 27 denotes a coupling nut slidable upon the tube 11 and having an internal thread 28 adapted to engage the thread 26 of the annular flange 24, 29 representing an internal flange of the nut 27 adapted to engage the annular flange 23 when' the thread 28 .is turned home upon the thread 26. Clearly, when the couplingelements 17 and 2O are Yscrewed their total distances into the tubes engage internal threads 31 at the outer ends of the tubes 11 and 12, respectively, and a shank 32 upon said member having threads 33 upon its end portion.

The manner of removably and adjustably securing the bumper to the brackets 15 and 16 is best disclosed in Fig. 1, wherein 34 indicates small clip brackets adapted to be slid from and toward each other upon the brackets 15 and 16, and each adapted to be clamped at any desired position upon said brackets 15 land 16 as by a wing nut 35 upon a small bolt 36 secured to one arm of a clip bracket and passing through the other arm thereof. Right-angle extensions 37 of the clip brackets 34 have notches 38 in their upper surfaces adapted to receive the Shanks 32 of the bumper supporting means, and nuts 39 of ordinary or preferred design are adapted to be turned upon the threads 33 of the Shanks to secure the extensions 37 between said nuts and the outer ends of the members 30.

The bumper as described is adapted to be extensible to be put to use as a push or pull tow line. To this end, the detachably connected tubes 11 and 12 carry an extension rod 40 whereby the bumper can be extensible, and the bumper supporting means carry mechanism for properly securing the extended bumper to a towing and towed vehicle, all as to be now described.

The extension rod 40 may include heads 41, 41 at its opposite ends, o-ne. of which heads could be removable, adapted to nicely lit and slide in the tubes 11 and 12, there being one head in each tube as disclosed in Fig. 2 and the body of the extension rod passing freely through the coupling elements as indicated at 42. Adjacent each head the extension rod may have threads, indicated 43 and 44, respectively, ada ted to engage internal threads 45 and 46 o the coupling elements 17 and 20, respectively. The arrangement is such that when the tubes 11 and 12 are disconnected in an obvious manner and the threads 43 and 44 are turned into the threads 45 and' 46, the heads 41 and 41 engage the coupling elements in the manner best disclosed in Fig. 3. At this time, clearly, the device will have considerable length, being longer than the bumper when in use an amount slightly less than the length of the extension rod 40, and the extended device will be rigid for service as a push or as apull tow line.

Each member 30 has a spherical recess 47 opposite its shank 32, and rotatably held in the recess is a ball 48 adapted to provide a universal joint. The member 30 may be of any suitable material, and the position of the ball 48 in the recess 47 may be insured in any suitable manner allowing universal movement ofthe ball, as by utilization of lugs 49 integral with the member 30 and engaging the ball. The ball may be inserted in the recess 47, and the lugs 49 may afterwards be shaped to tit about the ball. Any equiiv'alent arrangement may be substituted.

The ball 48 has a threaded opening 50 to receive a threaded shank 51 of an eye bolt 52 having transverse opening 53, and also having opposite preferably parallel faces provided with radial teeth, denoted 54 and 55, respectively. The eye belt is preferably quite close to the ball 48, as disclosed. Numerals 56 and 57 indicate gripping jaws adapted to be secured to seine convenient part of a vehicle, one set of jaws to a towing and the other set to a towed vehicle, each jaw including a preferably circular disc, indicated 58 and 59, respectively, at its inner end, the discs each having au opening 60 with radial teeth, denoted 61 and 62, respectively, adapted to engage the teeth 54 and 55 of the eye bolt 52. A small bolt 63 passing through the openings 53 and 60 receives a nut 64, the bolt and nut together being adapted to clamp the jaws to the eye bolt. Evidently, the jaws 56 and 57 can be itted about a part of a vehiclefand then locked to the eye bolt in anobvious manner.

In Fig. 2 the novel device is shown with parts positioned for use as a bumper. To set it up for use, the protruding shanks are merely supported upon a vehicle, as tor example in the manner disclosed in Fig. 1. In Fig. 3 the device is shown with parts positioned for use as a tow line. set it up for use, one protruding gripping jaw is secured to a part of a towing vehicle and the other protruding gripping jaw is secured to a part of a towed vehicle. In the case of Fig. 3 the bumper supporting Shanks are within the tubes, while in the ease of Fig. 2 the gripping jaws are within the tubes.

In Fig. 7 I have disclosed an ordinary or preferred form of bumper A 4with a device 10 having the features of the invention carried thereon by means of clip bracket-s in about the fashion the cli brackets of Fig. 1 support the bumper. r a device such as disclosed in Fig. 2 (say, vfor example, of smaller size) can be installed as a part of a tool box equipment for use as a tow line when occasion requires.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A device of the character described, comprising a plurality of tubes detachably secured end to end, means for removably supporting said tubes from a, vehicle, and mechanism whereby an end of each tube can lbe secured to a towing or a towed vehicle.

2. A device of the character described, comprising a plurality ofl'tubestadapted to be detachably securedend to'end, an extension member in said tubes and adapted to be To thus secured to an end of each tube, and mechanism whereby an 'end of each tube can be secured to a towing or a towed vehicle.

3. A device of the ycharacter described, comprisinga plurality of tubes adapted to be detachably secured end to end, an extension member in said tubes and adapted to be secured to an end of each tube, mechanism whereby an end of each tube can be secured to a towing or a towed vehicle, and means for removably supporting said tubes from a vehicle.

4. A device of the character described, comprising a plurality of tubes adapted to be detachably secured end to end, an exten sion member in said tubes and adapted to have each of its ends secured to said tubes, and mechanism whereby an end of each tube can be secured to a towing or a towed vehicle.

5. A device of the character described, comprising a plurality of tubes adapted to be detachably secured end to end, an extension member in said tubes and adapted to have each of its ends secured to said tubes, mechanism whereby an end of each tube can be secured to a towing or a towed vehicle, and means for removably supporting said tubes froma vehicle whereby the device can serve as a bumper.

6. The combination as'specified in claim 2, wherein the mechanism includes ai. gripping jaw and a universal joint.

'Z'.v A device of the character described,

' day of January,

comprising avbumper including telescoping parts, means whereby said bumper is extensible, and means whereby the bumper when extended can serve as a push and pull tow line.

8. A device of the character described, comprising a bumper including telescoping parts, means for removably securingksaid bumper to a vehicle, means whereby said bumper is extensible, and means whereby the bumper when extended can serve as a push and pull tow line. l

9. A device of the character described, comprising a, bumper including relatively slidable parts rendering the bumper adjustable as to length, and means adapting ythe bumper to beused as a tow line.

10. A device of the character described, comprising a bumper including yrela-tively slidable parts rendering the bumper adj ustable as to length, and means adapting the bumper when extended to be used as a push and pull tow line.

11. A device of the character described, comprising a bumper including detachably connected tubes, means rendering the bumper adjustable as to-length when saidY tubes are disconnected, and means adaptingr the bumper when extended to be used as a push and pull tow line.

Signed at Bridgeport, in the county of Fairfield, and State of Connecticut, this 2nd A. D., 192e. S. CHARLES GOULD. 

